Preparation

For crust:
Mix flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter and lard; using on/off turns, process until coarse meal forms. Add 2 tablespoons ice water and process until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if mixture is dry. Form dough into disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake crust until edges begin to brown, pressing crust with back of fork if bubbles form, about 15 minutes. Cool slightly. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.

Meanwhile, for filling:
Stir sugar and 2 tablespoons water in medium saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat; boil without stirring until sugar turns dark amber, occasionally swirling pan and brushing down pan sides with wet pastry brush, about 7 minutes (time will vary depending on size of pan). Remove pan from heat. Whisk in butter 1 tablespoon at a time (mixture will bubble). Stir in half and half and cream, stirring until all caramel bits dissolve.

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Recent Review

I was looking up this recipe to make it again this year. I really love it and I think the key difference between "bland" and "wonderful" reviews has to do with cooking the carmelized sugar as dark as possible without burning. It can be tricky, but if you go too far it's only a little bit of sugar and water to start over!